WUXI, China, May 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Biologics ("WuXi Bio") (2269.HK), a global company with leading open-access biologics technology platforms, and WuXi STA, a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, today announced that a joint venture company named WuXi XDC was established to provide end-to-end contract development and manufacturing of bioconjugates including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Dr. Jimmy (Jincai) Li was appointed as CEO of WuXi XDC.
Per the terms of the joint venture agreement, WuXi Biologics and WuXi STA will make capital contributions of USD120 million and USD80 million respectively to WuXi XDC. WuXi XDC will be owned by WuXi Biologics for 60% and WuXi STA for 40%. Accordingly, WuXi XDC will become a non-wholly owned subsidiary of WuXi Biologics, providing services for development and manufacturing of antibodies or other biologics, chemical payloads and linkers, and the bioconjugated Drug Substance (DS) and Drug Product (DP).
"Bioconjugates have recently emerged as an exciting therapeutic modality to address unmet medical needs. We're excited about establishing WuXi XDC, a dedicated end-to-end bioconjugate CDMO which will combine the world-class capacities and capabilities of both WuXi Biologics and WuXi STA to provide a superior one-stop service for global partners in an effort to expedite development and lower costs." Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics and Chairman of WuXi XDC, commented, "We are also delighted to announce Jimmy's new appointment and are confident that he will lead the company to establish a global outstanding bioconjugate CDMO to enable these novel therapeutics into the clinic and eventually on to commercialization."
Dr. Minzhang Chen, CEO of WuXi STA, commented, "Many ADC drug development companies face complex global supply chain and project management challenges with multiple contract partners to handle antibody, payload, linker and conjugations. In the past years, WuXi STA worked closely with WuXi Biologics on ADC therapeutics as well as other novel bioconjugates to provide our customers an expedited development pathway. Now with the initiative of WuXi XDC, we will further combine industry leading resources from both WuXi STA and WuXi Biologics, empowering more partners with a further optimized bioconjugates development and manufacture platform to launch their novel therapeutics faster to market for the benefit of global patients."
Dr. Jimmy Li, newly appointed CEO of WuXi XDC, commented, "I am very honored for the opportunity to lead WuXi XDC. By leveraging both the robust capacities and state-of-the-art technologies of WuXi Biologics and WuXi STA, WuXi XDC will further increase its unique presence in the bioconjugates industry to enable global partners as they build their innovative ideas into transformative new treatments for patients worldwide."
Dr. Jimmy Li has been with WuXi Biologics since 2011. In the nearly 10 years with WuXi Biologics, Dr. Li led various functions, including the establishment of Cell Culture Process Development and Pilot Plant Production group, followed by management of the MFG1 facility, where the first commercial biologics manufactured by WuXi Biologics was approved by the U.S. FDA and EMA. Dr. Jimmy Li has 20 years' experience in biologics process development, scale-up and cGMP manufacturing at Diversa Corporation (now BASF), Tanox and Genentech. Dr. Li holds B.S. degree from Tsinghua University, and Ph.D. degree from University of Maryland Baltimore County, majoring in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering.
About WuXi Biologics
WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK), a Hong Kong-listed company, is a leading global open-access biologics technology platform offering end-to-end solutions to empower organizations to discover, develop, and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing. The company's history and achievements demonstrate its commitment to providing a truly one-stop service offering and strong value proposition to its global clients.
As of March 22, 2021, there were a total of 361 integrated projects, including 190 projects in pre-clinical development stage, 137 projects in early-phase (phase I and II) clinical development, 32 projects in late-phase (phase III) development and 2 projects in commercial manufacturing. With total estimated capacity for biopharmaceutical production planned in China, Ireland, the U.S., Germany, and Singapore around 430,000 liters after 2024, WuXi Biologics will provide its biomanufacturing partners with a robust and premier-quality global supply chain network.
WuXi Biologics views Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) as an integral component of its ethos and business strategy and has established an ESG committee led by the CEO to increase the efficiency while advancing commitment to sustainability. For more information about WuXi Biologics, please visit www.wuxibiologics.com.
About WuXi STA
WuXi STA, a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, is a leading pharmaceutical development and manufacturing capability and technology platform company serving the life sciences industry, with global operations. As a premier Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), WuXi STA offers our worldwide partners efficient, flexible and high-quality solutions for integrated CMC (Chemical, Manufacturing, and Control) solutions from preclinical to commercial uses. For more information, please visit: http://www.STApharma.com and follow us on LinkedIn.